Noisey SmartRacing Suspension

[BT911]

i just finished installing hollow Sanders 22/29 TBs, Elephant Racing PolyBronze front and rear bushings, Smart Racing Sway bars 23mm and bump steer kit. performed corner balance and alignment. i went on the test drive and the car feels GREAT, but one problem. it seems that all sway bar links are making noise. called Smart Racing and they told me it's NORMAL. spending all that money for the Smart Racing bars that makes noise is unacceptable. this vehicle is my daily driver that i take to the track monthly and the noise factor is going to drive me crazy driving this car on L.A. roads. it makes me want to sell them and try something else. i've driven other Porsche's with the same type of links and not a single noise. my question here is, has anyone else had the same problems with these links from Smart Racing? and if so, has anyone fixed the noisey links? thanks for all the help

[trekkor]

Mine are not noisy.

Did you make sure that the bar is not "in bind" as it passes through the fender wells?

You can use lithium grease on the blue plastic bushings as well.




KT

[purplehaze]

What KIND of noise are they making?

Mine are silent as well.

G

[Dixie]

It's normal. Heim jointed end links are a bit noisy, no matter who makes the bar or what car they're on.

[trekkor]

I've heard not a peep?

What noise?


KT

[BT911]

a rattle noise coming from the sway bar links when going over bumps

[Peter Bull]

You sure you've tightened all the nuts and bolts properly

Sounds like there's some play in the rod ends. There will always be a little play, and as they wear the play will increase. You could try getting some new ones. Depending on brand and quality there will be some difference in the initial play. Hirschmann make very good rod ends and spherical bearings, but even they will start to rattle after a while.

/Peter

[Eagledriver]

I disconnect mine for street driving. Makes the suspension much less harsh and quieter. They are racing swaybars with no rubber bushings. They often make noise.

-Andy

[michael lang]

BT, that's too bad that your new set up is irritating you, but in all fairness, it sounds like you are leaning more towards performance street/track suspension which will unfortunately make some noise. There really are just a couple of things that you can do, one would be to make sure that all the linkages are nice & tight like Peter suggested, and some lithium grease wouldn't hurt. Another would be to follow Andy's advice and just disconnect the swaybars for driving on the street. Just out of curiousity, are you sure it's the swaybars? Could it possibly be the torsion bars or the TB bushings? Good luck!!

[cpetommy]

I have the same problem with a Weltmeister front sway bar from Automotion. I'm thinking about have my local machinist custom turn four mounting bolts so they fit with a slight press fit to insure all the play is taken out between the drop links and the sway bar arm and the mounting tabs on the lower suspension arm. The other alternative is to replace the spherical rod end with a drop link with a rubber interface instead of a hard chrome steel bearing. The rubber will dampen out all the noise but will reduce the some of the weight transfer but you may be able to compensate for it by using the the next mounting hole closer to the bar.

[KTL]

Make sure you've got the drop links on each side set to the proper length. If the static length of one is a bit loose, it obviously could rattle. Ideally you want to adjust the length of the drop links with the car resting on the tires, off jack stands. This is hard to do with the front bar because it's hard to get at the links behind the tires. The rear is easier.

[BT911]

thanks for all the replys. i will disconnect the sway bars and double check that the noise is coming from the links and not the bushings.

[trekkor]

Theoretically, shouldn't the drop links have a little play ( twist in your fingers ) on jack stands or on the ground?

If the wheels/suspension are at the same height, the bar is not loaded.


KT